How Sony, Lionsgate became Hollywood's 'arms dealers'

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Why it matters: Pleasing Wall Street before the streaming bubble popped meant trying to compete with Netflix, and thus, pouring massive resources into their own platforms and losing billions in the process. As the studios such as Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have struggled with this strategy, Sony and Lionsgate’s strategy of remaining traditional film and TV studios, as they were before the streaming boom, has largely served them well.

Sony’s steady stream: There’s nothing showy about Sony’s Q2 earnings — in fact, its numbers were down slightly year over year while still turning a profit of $73 million. But in that lack of showiness lies some solid figures: film revenue of $852 million, TV and TV networks revenue of $1.3 billion, combined. Those TV revenues are actually down 20% year-over-year because of post-strike series delivery still ramping back up, but overall it’s still a portrait of a healthy business.

Lionsgate’s Starz shed: Lionsgate, on the other hand, was not profitable, losing $60 million in Q2 on $835 million in revenue. This is largely due to having had a hit a year ago (John Wick 4) and not having a comparable one in 2024. In the future, though, the company’s earnings — which consist of its movies and TV studios plus its share of the premium network Starz — will adjust once it divests itself of that stake. By the end of the year, Lionsgate will just be a movie studio and TV production division without pay-TV weighing it down.

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